MANCHESTER UNITED have entered talks with Chelsea star Nicolas Jackson’s agent over a potential move, reports claim.
But Stamford Bridge chiefs have allegedly slapped a whopping £100MILLION price tag on the 24-year-old Senegal international.
According to BBC journalist Nizaar Kinsella, United have approached Jackson’s representative Ali Barat.
But for United to fund such an eye-watering move, minority owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe and Co. need to flog some deadweight first.
United are not believed to have too much wriggle room as they look to avoid falling foul of the Premier League’s PSR rules.
And Chelsea are known to have a long-standing interest in Old Trafford outcast Alejandro Garnacho, who is valued at £70million.
Manager Ruben Amorim has a pretty good idea of which players he wants to sell, but hardly any clubs are jumping for them.
United are currently focused on off-loading their five-player ‘Bomb Squad’, who have been forced to train alone after 5pm when the rest of the squad have left Carrington.
But Amorim has been boosted by the news that Marcus Rashford is closing in on a dream move to Barcelona, after the clubs reportedly agreed a loan deal, with an option to buy.
Although United would prefer a permanent deal, Barca have given them a major helping hand by agreeing to cover Rashford’s staggering £325,000-a-week wages.
Meanwhile, Nottingham Forest have expressed an interest in taking Jadon Sancho off United’s hands, after Chelsea paid a £5million forfeit for U-turning on their obligation to buy the winger.
Meanwhile, Antony and Tyrell Malacia, who went out on six month loans to Real Betis and PSV respectively, are up for sale.
Amorim has already signed Matheus Cunha in a £62.5million move from Wolves and is set to bring Bryan Mbeumo in for £71million next week.
But the hunt for a new No.9 is ongoing, with Rasmus Hojlund clearly not the answer to United’s goalscoring woes.
Hojlund missed several clear cut chances during United’s goalless pre-season draw with newly promoted Prem side Leeds in Stockholm on Saturday.
Meanwhile, Jackson is up against some stiff competition at Stamford Bridge next season.
Chelsea beat United to Ipswich striker Liam Delap’s signature, with the Blues adding proven Prem goalscorer Joao Pedro for £60million shortly after.
Following Chelsea‘s Club World Cup glory in the USA, Jackson ended the season with 13 goals and six assists from 37 games.
But 15 of those contributions came in just 30 Premier League appearances.
If United were to ramp up their interest in Jackson, they would likely face competition from AC Milan, who are confident they can prize him away from the Prem.
MAN UTD PLAYER RATINGS: Hojlund completely anonymous and Heaton worryingly man of the match
MANCHESTER UNITED kicked off their pre-season adventure with a 0-0 draw against rivals Leeds.
Ruben Amorim handed a start to new signing Matheus Cunha as the Red Devils put out a strong starting XI.
They ended up changing the entire side for the second half.
And more subs followed for United later on in the game.
But who had a match to remember?
And did anyone have a performance to forget?
Find out how Amorim’s troops fared here.
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